Amino trimethyl hexanoic acids and their lactams



Patented eb. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES T OFFICE AMINO TRIMETHYL HEXANOIC ACIDS AND THEIR LACTAMS Alva V. Snider, Richmo Berkeley, Calif., assig nors to nd, and Rupert C. Morris,

Shell Development Company, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application July 17, 1944, Serial No. 545,408

8 Claims.

ing agent, thereby forming the lactams of the fi-aminotrimethylhexanoic acids, and hydrolyzing the said lactams to form the free G-aminotrimethylhexanoie acids when such acids are desired as the end products.

The lactams and amino acids of the invention are useful for a variety of purposes. They are particularly useful for the synthesis of polyamide-type resins and as plasticizers for polymeric substances. The lactams are useful as insecticides and as constituents of insecticide compositions. The amino acids represent amino acids of a novel type which may be usedin biochemical research. Since the compounds contain several functional groups, i. e. the carboxyl and amino groups, they may be used as raw materials for the synthesis of a wide variety of other useful organic compounds. Commercial use of the compounds of the invention is practical and advantageous from an economic standpoint, since as will be shown hereinbelow the compounds may be economically prepared from dihydroisophorone which is a readily available and inexpensive starting material. 7

The novel compounds of the invention may be prepared by a process which essentially comprises forming the oxime. of dihydroisophorone, reacting the said oxime with a rearranging agent, thereby forming the lactams of the 6- aminotrimethylhexanoic acids, and treating the said lactams with a hydrolytic reagent in order to form the desired acids. The first step in this series of reactions, i. e. the formation of the oxime of dihydroisophorone, may be readily effected by reacting dihydroisophorone with a salt of hydroxylainine, e. g. hydroxylamine hydrochloride, in the presence of an equivalent amount of an alkaline material, e. g. sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide. In large scale operation, however, the oxime may preferably be prepared by reacting dihydroisophorone with sodium nitrite, sodium bisulfite and sulfur dioxide until the reaction is complete and the dihydroisophorone has been substantially completely converted to dihydroisophorone oxime. The reaction mixture may then be neutralized with a base such as sodium hydroxide and the dihydroisophorone oxime separated from the neutralized mixture.

The dihydroisophorone oxime prepared in this manner may be readily converted to the lactams of the invention by subjecting it to the action of a base such as sodium hydroxide or of other rearranging agents such as phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorus pentasulfide, phosphorus pentoxide, para-toluene sulfonyl chloride and para-toluene sulfonic acid. Strong mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid, particularly sulfuric acid,'represent preferred reagents for effecting the rearrangement. The conversion of dihydroisophorone oxime may be carried out by heating a quantity of the oxime with sulfuric acid having a concentration of from about 75% to about 98% sulfuric acid, the

oxime and the acid being used in the ratio which lies within the range of between about part by weight of oxime to about 1 part by weight of sulfuric acid and part by weight of oxime to about 20 parts by weight of acid, a preferred ratio being about 1 part of oxime to about '3 parts of 85% sulfuric acid. If desired, an inert solvent such as chloroform, carbon tetrachloride or other alkyl halides, the paraffin hydrocarbons and the like, may be added to the reaction mixture. Heating of the reaction mixture may be continued until the reaction begins, e. g. at a temperature of from about 85 C. to about 90 C. The reaction may then be allowed to proceed spontaneously until it is nearly complete, whereupon the reaction mixture may be heated to a temperature of not more than about 200 0., preferably about C., for a'time sufficient to complete the rearrangement. The reaction mixture may then be cooled and kept cool during the addition of a basic material in an amount sufficient to neutralize the acid content of the reaction mixture. Suitable basic materials comprise sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, the alkaline earth metal hydroxides, particularly calcium hydroxide. sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and the like. The cold neutralized material may then be filtered to remove the salt which is formed by the neu- 3 tralization process. The lactum product may then be separated from the filtrate by extraction with chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, ethyl chloride, ethyl bromide, ether, hydrocarbon solvents, such as octane or benzene, or other suitable solvents. The solvent may then be separated from the resulting solution of lactam and solvent, and the lactam isolated in a pure condition by distillation under diminished pressure, fractional crystallization, or .other suitable means. If desired, they may be further purified by a second distillation and/ or crystallization from an organic solvent.

It will be apparent that the nature :of the lactam product formed by rearrangement or the oxime will depend upon the direction of cleavage of the B-membered carbon ring under the influence of the acidic rearranging .agent. The rearrangement may take place, for example, in

such a fashion as to form the lactam of G-amino- 3,3,5-trimethylhexanoic acid (epsilon-amino beta,beta,delta-trimethylcaproic acid) NOE Ha C 3 CH C 2 CH3 .The'reaction may also proceed, however, to effect the introduction of-a'nitrogen atom between the carbonatomof the oxime'group and the carbon .atom of the ringzstructure which is adjacent to the dimethyl-substitutedcarbon atom, in which Ti? case the .lactam of 6-.amino-3,5,5-trimethylhexanoic .acid (epsilon-amino-beta,delta,delta- .trimethylcaproic acid) is formed:

Whichof these two productsis formed .or which predominates in .a mixture of I the two isomers formed as a product of the reaction is determined the lactams obtained by the. said rearrangement .stepby treating thesaid lactams with anysreagent capable. orconverting 'a lactam to' an amino-acid. This .maylbe accomplished, for example, by re- .actingthelactam with barium hydroxide; thereby .form'ingthedesired aminoacid. A preferred procedure comprises hydrolyzing 'the lactam with a dilute solution" of' a mineralacid, e; g. a 10% 4 solu- 'tion of sulfuric acid used in an -am'ount which slightly more than that required to'form a salt,

e. g. a sulfate with the amino "acid produced by the hydrolytic reaction. After the hydrolysis is complete, the reaction mixture may be .cooled and a 'quantity 10f a reagent-which \will .neutralize the acid content of the hydrolytic mixture may be added thereto. Thus, when the hydrolysis is being effected through the agency of sulfuric acid, the sulfuric acid present in the reaction mixture may be neutralized by reaction with barium hydroxide, thereby forming an insoluble precipitate of barium sulfate which may be removed by filtration, leaving a solution of the desired amino acid. This solution may be concentrated by evaporation and the amino acid separated therefrom. It will be apparent that when an individual lactam is employed as a starting material an individual acid will be obtained as a product. Thus the lactam of 6-amino-3,3,5-trimethylhexanoic acid yields upon hydrolysis fi-amino- 3',3,5=trimethylhexanoic acid while the lactam of 6-amino-3,5,5-trimethylhexanoic acid yields upon 'hydrolysis '6-amino-3,5,5-trimethy1hexanoic acid.

When the mixture of the two isomeric lactams which may be formed as a product of the rearrangement of dihydroisophorone oxime is em- ;ployed as a-starting material for the hydrolytic step; a mixture of the two corresponding hexanoic acids may be formed. as a product, the two isomeric acids being present in relative proportions corresponding to the relative amounts of the isomeric lactams .present in the mixture used as astarting material. This mixture'of 'acids'may be used as such for most purposes, "although if desired it may be separated into its constituent isomers by any suitable means, as by fractional distillation, fractional vcrystallization,etc. If desired, the G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acids'of the invention may be prepared in the form of their acidsalts, e. g. their hydrochlorides. Thus, the hydrochlorides of the G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acids may be prepared by dissolving the lactams in .a suitable solvent, e. g. moist ether, and saturating the resulting solution with gaseous hydrogen chloride. This usually results in the formation of .a precipitate comprisingthe desired amino acid .salt which may be separated from the solvent, dried, and purifiedby crystallization from .a suitable solvent or by 'fractionaldistillation, preferably .under reduced pressure.

The process of the inventionmay be illustrated .by the following examples whereinthe parts are byweight.

Example I The oxime of dihydroisophorone was prepared by reacting dihydroisophorone'with angexcess of hydroxylamine hydrochloride and an amount of sodium carbonate which was approximately equivalent to 'the'amountof hydroxylamine hydrochloride used. The oxime'product separated as .an oil which crystallized on standing. After recrystallization from dilute ethyl alcohol, it melted at 93 C. I

.About .one part of the .oxime prepared in'thls manner wasxnlxed with about'threeparts of 85% sulfuric .acid and the .reaction started by'heating theresulting mixture .to .a temperature .ofabout 80 .C. .When the spontaneous reaction had ceased, heating wasresumed to raise the-tem- .perature vof .thereaction mixture to about 195 C.

After maintaining the. mixture at this tempera- .ture for about .15 minutes, the reaction mixture was cooled to about 0C. and neutralized witlran aqueous potassium hydroxide solution containing about 24% potassium hydroxide. The potassium sulfate formed by the neutralization was removed by filtration. The filtrate, as well as the potassium sulfate, were thenextracted with chloroform and the combined extracts distilled. This resulted in the isolation of "the lactam product which boiled at about 122 C. at 0.8 mm. Upon recrystallization from octanes a white crystalline product was obtained in 93 yield. This product melted at 84 C. to 86 C. and analyzed 8.87% N (theory, 9.03%-N). Its mixed melting point with the oxime starting material was 43 C. The lactam product was easily soluble in water, while the oxime starting material was only slightly soluble in that solvent.

Example II The lactam product prepared as in Example I was dissolved inmoist ether and the resulting ether solution saturated with gaseous hydrogen chloride. The hydrochlorides of the G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acids separated almost immediately in the form of an oil. This was separated from the reaction mixture and dried. Upon standing, a white crystalline material was formed. Titration of this for ionizable chlorine showed the product to be the hydrochloride of the G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acids. The yield was approximately quantitative.

Example III About five parts of the lactam product prepared as described in Example I, ten parts of barium hydroxide octahydrate and 100 parts of Water were refluxed overnight. Carbon dioxide was bubbled through the solution to precipitate the excess barium hydroxide. The barium carbonate that formed was filtered and the water solution concentrated nearly to dryness. On standing, 4

parts of the crystalline (S-aminotrimethylhexanoic acids separated. This solid product was which make them unique and especially suitable for varied uses. The presence of the quaternary carbon atom and of the three alkyl groups, i. e. the three methyl groups, on the carbon chain imparts to polymers formed by polymerization of v the G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid highly desirable characteristics. The resulting polyamides have, for example, much better solubility characteristics and are much more elastic in nature than are the polyamides derived from B-aminocaproic acid. The presence of the said methyl groups also imparts desirable solubility characteristics to the lactams and to the corresponding amino acids. These compounds are, for example, more readily soluble in hydrocarbon solvents than are the G-aminohexanoic acid lactams or the fi-aminohe'xanoic acids. This fact is of importance, forexample, when it is desired to prepare insecticidal sprays by incorporation of the lactams in a hydrocarbon solvent such as kerosene. The branched chain structure in the presently disclosed compounds is also or interest from a biochemical standpoint, since the branched chain compounds have physiological properties which are different from the properties of the straight chain amino acids. It is also of great importance from a technical standpoint that the rearrangement of the oxime of dihydroisophorone by reaction with a mineral acid such as sulfuric acid takes place much more smoothly 6 and slowly than does the rearrangement of the simpler oximes such as cyclohexanone oxime. As is well known, the rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to form the lactam of fi-aminohexanoic acid '(epsilon aminocaproic acid lactam) takes place with almost explosive violence. This necessitates carrying out the reaction in a batch manner, using very small amounts of oxime starting material. It also entails loss of product, discoloration of product through overheating, etc. Treatment of isophorone oxime and dihydroisophorone oxime with sulfuric acid, on the other hand, gives rise to a relatively slow and smooth reaction which may be readily controlled and which leads to the formation of high yields of a very pure product. The reaction may be carried out on a large scale, using relatively large quantities of oxime with attendant economy of operation.

We claim as our invention:

1. A compound selected from the group consisting of a fi-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid lactam wherein the methyl groups are substituted upon the No. 3 and the No. 5 carbon atoms of the lactam, and its corresponding hydrolysis product, a G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid wherein the methyl groups are substituted upon the No. 3 and the No. 5 carbon atoms of the carbon chain.

2. A G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid wherein the methyl groups are substituted upon the No. 3 and the No. 5 carbon atoms of the carbon chain.

3. 6-amino-3,3,5-trimethylhexanoic acid.

4. A fi-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid lactam wherein the methyl groups are substituted upon the -No. 3 and the No. 5 carbon atoms of the lactam.

5. 6-amino-3,3,5-trimethylhexanoic acid lactam.

6. 6-amino-3,5,5-trimethylhexanoic acid lactam.

7. A process for the production of a G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid wherein the methyl groups are substituted upon the No. 3 and the No. 5 carbon atoms of the carbon chain, which comprises reacting dihydroisophorone with an hydroxylamine salt of a mineral acid and an alkali in an amount which is substantially equivalent to the amount of the mineral acid salt used, thereby forming dihydroisophorone oxime, reacting the said dihydroisophorone oxime with sulfuric acid having a cencentration of about 85% at a temperature of between about C. and about 200 C., thereby forming a 6-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid lactam, and hydrolyzing the said lactam by reaction with a dilute mineral acid to form a G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid.

8.- A process for the production of a lactam of a G-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid wherein the methyl groups are substituted upon the No. 3

and the No. 5 carbon atoms of the lactam, which, comprises reacting dihydroisophorone with a mineral acid salt of hydroxylamine in the presence of an approximately equivalent amount of an alkaline substance, thereby forming dihydroisophorone oxime and reacting the said dihydroisophorone oxime with approximately sulfuric acid at a temperature of between about 80 C. and about 200 C., thereby forming the desired fi-aminotrimethylhexanoic acid lactam.

ALVA V. SNIDER. RUPERT C. MORRIS.

(References on following page) magma REFERENGES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS The following references are of record m the Number Country Date file 'of this patent: 832,126 France Sept. 22, 1938 UNITED SIA'IES- PATENTS 5 OTHER REFERENCES- -Number Name Date Eek et a1., Jour. Biol. Chem., vol. 1'06, pp; 387'- 2,0 7-1,253 Carothers Feb. 16, 1937 391 (1934). 2;130,948 C'arothers Sept. 20, I938 Wollack, Annalen der Chemie, vol. 312-, pp. 171- 23221369 Cass Nov. '12, 1940 m 190. 2,241,321 Schlack May 6, 1941 Heilbron, Dictionary of Organic Compounds, 2,313,026 Schljack ('2) March 2, 1943 vol. III (Oxford University Press, New York; 2,327, 119 Martin Aug. 17,1943 1943). Page 856. 

